<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>One Loss For One Win by aj_linguistik</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27065674">One Loss For One Win</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/aj_linguistik/pseuds/aj_linguistik'>aj_linguistik</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>October Prompt Challenge [17]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sword Art Online (Anime &amp; Manga), ソードアート・オンライン - 川原礫 | Sword Art Online - Kawahara Reki</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Crushes, Doing Hobbies, F/F, First Dates, Flustered Suguha, Kendo, October Prompt Challenge, One Shot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 21:56:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,431</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27065674</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/aj_linguistik/pseuds/aj_linguistik</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Rika picks up a shinai and a helmet and challenges Suguha to a spar- if she wins, she gets to take Suguha out on a date!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kirigaya Suguha | Leafa/Shinozaki Rika | Lisbeth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>October Prompt Challenge [17]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949194</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>One Loss For One Win</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/disasterbiKirito/gifts">disasterbiKirito</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A/N: Day 17 brings me to this soft rarepair! Babe's scenario was fairly detailed for this one; he picked kendo for "Doing Hobbies" and SuguLis, and he set up a very very VERY cute prompt for me, so I had a LOT of fun writing this piece! They're so soft help XD I hope you enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>            Suguha smirked as she saw her brother on the floor panting, flopped over the way he was because he was admitting his defeat. He’d been out of practice for ages, but his time spent in the virtual world had reignited his love for swinging around a sword, even if it was just a shinai and not a true blade. It worked out well for her, because that meant she had a sparring partner at home who would join her for her training sessions. Today, they were practicing just until Rika got here. She offered Kazuto a hand and laughed when he waved her off.</p><p>            “Just…just give me a minute,” he said.</p><p>            She straightened back up and shook her head at him, amazed at how pathetic the hero of the SAO Incident could be at times. She wanted to make a jab at him about it, but she heard a knock behind her. Turning around, she smiled and waved at Rika as she approached them. Rika looked between the siblings and let out a chuckle of her own.</p><p>            “Kirito, is Leafa kicking your ass?” she teased.</p><p>            Kazuto groaned and finally picked himself up off of the floor. Suguha helped him up into a standing position, and he reached over to playfully punch Rika in the shoulder. He sighed and pulled off his helmet.</p><p>            “I’m going to go and get some waters,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”</p><p>            Grinning, Suguha turned after him as he ambled out of the room.</p><p>            “Don’t feel too rushed, old man,” she said.</p><p>            He waved her off again.</p><p>            “Shut up,” he muttered.</p><p>            The two girls laughed as he exited the dojo and headed towards the main house to retrieve their drinks. Rika walked over and picked up the shinai he’d set down, waving it up and down as if testing the weight of it. She smiled up at Suguha and picked a rather peculiar stance with it, one that looked like her form for swinging a mace in ALO. Her grin was a bit cheesy. It was still cute, though; Suguha couldn’t deny that.</p><p>            “Hey, Leafa,” Rika said. “I wanna spar with you!”</p><p>            Suguha shifted her wait and raised an eyebrow at her.</p><p>            “Are you so sure about that?” she said. “I don’t mind, but I won’t go easy on you.”</p><p>            Rika nodded her head.</p><p>            “I know,” she said. “It’s just for fun. Oh! I know! Let’s make a bet!”</p><p>            Tilting her head, Suguha frowned.</p><p>            “What kind of a bet?”</p><p>            Rika walked over to the place where Kazuto had set down his helmet and she inspected it for a moment. She frowned and then went over to the storage closet to pull out a fresh one. She slipped it over her head and then she came back to the center of the room with a cocky grin on her face. Suguha had to try her best to not laugh—she looked silly wearing just the helmet and her regular clothing.</p><p>            “If I win the match, then I get to take you out on a date!” she said.</p><p>            Suguha was instantly grateful that her helmet was still on. She could feel her cheeks burning intensely. If she lost, Rika would take her out? This was just so unfair. She’d had a crush on Rika for a while, and she’d been wondering if it might be worth the shot to ask her out. But Rika was so blatant about it here, after she’d just claimed she wouldn’t go easy on her. She had to make it convincing if she lost. Indecision filled her heart until at last she made up her mind. She pointed one hand at Rika and tried not to sound flustered.</p><p>            “Y-you’re on!” she exclaimed.</p><p>            Chuckling, Rika got into position.</p><p>            “That’s what I like to hear!” she cried.</p><p>            From the start, Suguha knew to treat her opponent more like a VR player than a kendo swordswoman. Rika clearly had no experience and was taking her stance directly from her fights in the virtual world. She dashed forward with a cry and swung her shinai at Suguha with one hand just like she would her mace. Suguha side-stepped the swing, not wanting to make it obvious that she was planning to throw the match. Rika sucked her teeth and turned on her heel to thrust her shinai at her again.</p><p>            Back and forth the blows were exchanged. Rika appeared to be more in shape than Kazuto was, so she was light on her feet and surprisingly well-balanced. Suguha knew from a few moments of their swords pushing against one another that she was definitely stronger than Rika, though, and she had to be careful not to let her strength overpower the other girl’s. She was looking for the perfect opening to cause a slip-up. It wouldn’t be easy; her mind was trained to win.</p><p>            “I’m back with the—”</p><p>            She heard Kazuto talking, but he stopped short and watched the two girls exchange blows. He hummed and frowned.</p><p>            “I feel like I’m interrupting something,” he muttered.</p><p>            At last, she saw her opening. She slipped her shinai somewhat to the side, and Rika’s then had an opening to score a point. Thankfully for her, Rika saw the opening and took the chance. She felt the tip of the other shinai come in contact with her throat. Luckily for Rika, the strike was performed correctly for someone who was unused to kendo matches. She stopped her movement and saw Rika start to grin. Rika pulled up the helmet and giggled.</p><p>            “How’s Friday evening?” she teased.</p><p>            Suguha felt her face flushing under her helmet again.</p><p>            “Y-yeah,” she stammered. “Just text me the location.”</p><p>            Kazuto blinked back and forth between the girls, wondering what in the world he’d missed while he was out fetching waters. He handed one to Suguha and then gasped. He pulled her helmet off.</p><p>            “Sugu! Are you overheating?!” he exclaimed.</p><p>            Her blushing face was now in full view. She whacked her brother in the chest and pushed him back before he could say anything else stupid. Suguha quickly lifted her water to her mouth and took a large gulp of it. Kazuto frowned down at the other water in his hands and looked over at Rika.</p><p>            “I already drank out of this one, but if you want a sip—”</p><p>            Rika shook her head.</p><p>            “No, no, no, I’m good,” she said. “I’d rather share with your sister.”</p><p>            Suguha nearly choked on her water. Kazuto hummed.</p><p>            “If you insist,” he said. “Did you want to go another round, Sugu?”</p><p>            Suguha shook her head.</p><p>            “No,” she said. “Let’s just get to what we were going to do with Liz today. We shouldn’t keep her occupied in here, right?”</p><p>            Rika gave Suguha a playful wink. Kazuto looked between the two, trying to connect the dots of what he’d missed. He gave up, though, and started to strip down out of his kendo gear. He’d figure it out eventually.</p><hr/><p>            Friday snuck up on her. She was nervous the whole week about it, wondering what she should wear and how good it all looked. She wanted this date to be a success. If she got to have more dates with Rika, then there was a chance that they could have a relationship similar to the one her brother had with Asuna. She hoped with all of her heart that it would turn out that well, but this was only step one. She had to remember that.</p><p>            So, when the doorbell rang that evening, and Rika greeted her with a very cute casual date look—black jeans, black boots, a cute pink sweater, and a light amount of makeup—she tried to swallow all of her long-term goals and take this slow. For herself, she’d picked out white jeans, a green blouse with the shoulders revealed, and some black, open-toed sandals. She pulled some of her hair behind her ear as she blushed at Rika.</p><p>            “Y-you look really cute,” she said.</p><p>            Rika grinned and gave her a mock curtsy.</p><p>            “Thank you!” she said. “And you’re positively gorgeous!”</p><p>            The heat in her cheeks intensified. There was no kendo mask to hide her flustered state here. Rika reached over and took her hand gently. She wrapped her fingers between Suguha’s and squeezed her hand.</p><p>            “Shall we?” she said.</p><p>            Suguha nodded.</p><p>            “Yeah, let’s go,” she said, smiling warmly.</p><p>            Rika had picked a date location that was within walking distance of the Kirigaya household. The evening was just starting to light up as they walked. Lights from storefronts gave the two girls a warm glow as they made their way to the little café on the corner. They both slipped inside, took their seats across from one another, and quickly ordered something warm to drink.</p><p>            Sitting across from Rika as her date felt more nerve-wracking than usual. She felt like she needed to be at her best right now, which seemed a bit ridiculous if she thought about it. They’d been friends for a while now; there was nothing she needed to be nervous about. When her drink was set down before her, she wrapped her hands around it and leaned over to blow gently on the foamy beverage.</p><p>            “You know, I suppose that was a chicken kind of a way to ask you out,” Rika said, chuckling to herself. “I’ve been meaning to ask for a while, but I couldn’t ever find the right words. So, I hope you don’t think of my dare as cheap.”</p><p>            Suguha shook her head.</p><p>            “No, no, it was…it was perfect,” she said.</p><p>            Now it was Rika’s turn to blush.</p><p>            “In…in fact, I’d been too scared to try and ask you,” she admitted. “You just went ahead and blurted it out so naturally that I felt silly. I’ve always wanted you to…to be my girlfriend.”</p><p>            She looked back up at Rika, who was so red that it stood out against her pink sweater. She felt immediately embarrassed by being so blunt. She waved her hands in front of her, trying to think up an excuse.</p><p>            “I-I mean—!!”</p><p>            Rika broke the tension by letting out an awkward laugh.</p><p>            “Well, aren’t we a pair of idiots?” she said. “Here I was worried I’d taken the bet a little too far.”</p><p>            Suguha shook her head.</p><p>            “Not at all!” she insisted. “I’d love to go on dates with you more often.”</p><p>            Grinning Rika reached her hand out over the table and offered it to Suguha. Feeling a fuzzy warm feeling in her chest, Suguha placed her hand in Rika’s. This wasn’t just a dare. It was real. The girl she’d fallen for was returning her feelings.</p><p>            “Kirigaya Suguha,” Rika said. “Would you do me the honor of becoming my girlfriend?”</p><p>            The way she asked it had her usual teasing tone to it, but Suguha could see through that cheesy grin. Rika truly meant what she was saying. She smiled back at her and nodded her head. She squeezed Rika’s hand in hers and felt her heart flutter as she thought about how much more she’d get to hold that hand now.</p><p>            “Of course,” she said. “It would make me the happiest girl in the world.”</p><p>            Rika nodded her head very matter-of-factly.</p><p>            “It’s settled, then!” she said. “Step one: check. Step two…we’ll see how you take to being the future Mrs. Shinozaki.”</p><p>            Suguha felt her face flushing again. Rika laughed and waved her hand.</p><p>            “I’m joking,” she said. “We’ll take it slow. But this does mean that we’ll get to go on more dates together!”</p><p>            Suguha nodded.</p><p>            “I’m looking forward to it,” she said. “Oh, and about that…”</p><p>            Her new girlfriend hummed curiously.</p><p>            “Would…would you come to my next kendo tournament?” she asked.</p><p>            Rika’s eyes lit up in excitement.</p><p>            “I’d love to come and cheer on my girlfriend!” she said.</p><p>            <em>My girlfriend,</em> Suguha thought. <em>She called me her girlfriend.</em></p><p>            Her heart fluttered even more. It felt so light and airy. She wondered how she’d make it through the next kendo tournament if she had Rika on the sideline cheering for her not as a friend, but as a girlfriend. She drew in a breath. She’d feel more encouraged to win. There would be no problems with distractions.</p><p>            Or so she hoped.</p><hr/><p>            At the tournament, Rika watched as Suguha took on each of her opponents fiercely and started to score wins against them quite rapidly. She shoved her hands into her jacket pockets and wondered how in the world she’d scored a point on her at all. The more she watched her fight, the less sure she was that she’d actually won the match. She leaned over to Kazuto who lazily blinked at her.</p><p>            “Is something the matter?” he asked.</p><p>            She laughed.</p><p>            “How late did you stay up last night, Kirito?” she laughed.</p><p>            He groaned.</p><p>            “I was just doing homework,” he grumbled.</p><p>            Rika rolled her eyes.</p><p>            “Suuuure ya were,” she said. “But I’m wondering…if Leafa’s this good, then how in the world did I manage to score a point on her the other week?”</p><p>            Kazuto let out a dry laugh.</p><p>            “I totally thought I’d thrown her off by talking,” he admitted. “I don’t know why she was so distracted. Wait…did this have something to do with you all having your first date the Friday after that?”</p><p>            Rika blinked over at the match going on right now.</p><p>            “I told her that if I won she’d have to let me take her out on a date,” she said.</p><p>            Kazuto let out a snort.</p><p>            “Oh, dude, she totally let you win!” he said, starting to laugh.</p><p>            She reached over and whacked him on the shoulder.</p><p>            “No way,” she said. “What makes you think it was that and not that she was distracted?”</p><p>            He smiled and nodded over at his sister as she scored the winning point.</p><p>            “There’s no way Sugu would lose unless she meant it,” he said. “Even distracted, she’s the best swordswoman I know in the real world.”</p><p>            Rika looked over at Suguha and smiled, shaking her head.</p><p>            “Oh, and she’s been head over heels for you for a while,” Kazuto threw in. “She thinks I can’t hear her gay-panicking through the bedroom walls or something, but she’d lose her mind over how cute you were when you sent her a text message.”</p><p>            Laughing, Rika pictured the scene in her head and smiled.</p><p>            “She totally got me,” she said.</p><p>            Kazuto nodded.</p><p>            “Yeah, but can you complain?” he said. “You both seem really happy together.”</p><p>            Rika nodded.</p><p>            “That’s true,” she said. “She took one loss to win one heart.”</p><p>            Kazuto smirked.</p><p>            “That she did.”</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>